Manufacture of glazed ceramic bodies



Dec. 2, 1941. s. J. BAIR I 9 MANUFACTURE OF GLAZED CERAMIC BODIES I Filed Nov. 29, 1938 7 Sheets-Sheet 1 mmvrm @5926; (1 BF 1? A TTORNEYSQ Dec. 2, 1941. G. J. BAIR 2,264,499

' MANUFACTURE OF GLAZED CERAMIC BODIES Filed NOV. 29, 1938 7 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR.

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7 Sheets-Sheet 5 A m a 9 N n 15 d w 6 Y EB G G. J. BAIR MANUFACTURE OF GLAZED CERAMIC BODIES Filed Nov. 29, 1938 A TTORNEYS.

Dec. 2, 1941. G. J. BAIR 2,264,499

7 MANUFACTURE OF GLAZED CERAMIC BODIES Filed Nov. 29, 1938 7 Sheets-Sheet 4 1 IN VEN TOR. GEORGE uf Bane A TTORNEYS.

Dec. 2, 1941. G. J. BAIR MANUFACTURE OF GLAZED CERAMIC BODIES '7 Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed Nov. 29, 1938 a MB T w/// z r J A 5 v2 w as n V fl m9 mo M 1 1 A\ mm 9% \BN UH mum '7 Sheets-Sheet 6 l/VVF/V TOR HTTORNE K5.

G. J. BAIR Filed Nov. 29, 1958 MANUFACTURE OF GLAZED CERAMIC BODIES Dec. 2, 1941.

Dec. 2, 1941. G. J. BAIR MANUFACTURE OF GLAZED CERAMIC BODIES Filed Nov. 29, 1938 '7 Sheets-Sheet 7 INVENTOR. 650x50 Bane AT ORNEYS.

Patented 2, 1941 UNITED;

MANUFACTURE STATES PATENT or GLAZED censure nonms OFFICE George J. Bair, Pittsburgh, Pa, assignor to Norbert S. Garbisch Application November 29, 1938, Serial No. 242,944

2Claims.

The present invention relates to apparatus for forming and glazing ceramic bodies and it has particular relation to such apparatus as is applicable to the formation of and glazing of tiles or similar bodies from waste sand produceclin the grinding and polishing of glass.

One object of the invention is to provldean apparatus of the foregoing type which operates substantially continuously and requires a minimum number of heating operations in the formation of the completed product.

It has heretofore been the practice in the grinding and polishing of glass to cement the plates thereof to the top of movable cars or tables, and then to spread sand in water sus-' pension over the surfaces to be polished while simultaneously passing them under revolvin ture might be heated to the sintering point of the glass particles contained therein and then subjected to pressing in a suitable mold. As a result of this treatment the particles of silica and glass were bonded together to form strong coherent bodies suitable for use as ceramic tiles, or for similar purposes. I

The bodies as initially obtained possess porous, or more or less grainy, surfaces somewhat resembling an ordinary unglazed tile which for most purposes requires a glaze. Conventional methods of glazing such as are employed in connection with ordinary clay tiles suggest themselves. However, it will be recognized that the steps of forming a clay tile involve preparing plastic blanks of moist clay and then drying and firing the blanks in saggars stacked in kilns. In order to glaze the blanks, they are cooled, annealed and coated with a slip of glazing material, subsequently they are reheated in order to fuse the glaze and finally they are annealed to relieve internal strain. The cooling and reheating operations of course are time-consuming and also necessitate the expenditure of excessive amounts of fuel.

It has now been found that by employing the waste sand from the grinding and polishing of glass as a source of material. for ceramic bodies it can be hot pressed, in order to form the desired bodies and then immediately the glaze can be applied thereto in the form of a dry powder with but little cooling .or reheating of the bodies. Subsequently the tiles to which the glaze has been applied can be passed through tunnel kilns in order to mature the glaze and then to anneal them.

For a better understanding of the invention reference may now be had to the accompanying drawings in which like numerals refer to like parts. i

In the drawing Figure 1 is a sectional view taken in a horizontal plane along the lines I--I of Fig. 2, of an apparatus embodying the process of the invention.

Figure 2 is a view partially in elevation and partially in cross-section, taken substantially upon the line 11-11 of Fig. 1.

Figure 3 is a fragmentary view partially in elevation and partially in cross-section of a molding and pressing mechanism suitable for use'in forming coherent blanks from waste sand.

Figure 4 is a fragmentary cross-sectional view taken in vertical plane, showing in greater detail mechanism for applying pulverized glazing material to the tile blanks.

Figure 5 is a fragmentary cross-sectional view taken in a horizontal plane substantially upon the line V-V of Fig. 4.

Figure 6 is a cross-sectional view taken in a horizontal plane substantially along the line VIVI of Fig. 7, showing a modified form of apparatus.

Figure 7 is a view partially in elevation and partially in cross-section, substantially upon the line VIIVII of Fig. 6.

Figure 8 is a cross-sectional view substantially upon the line VIII-VIII of Fig. '7.

Figure 9 is a fragmentary isometric view of a mechanism for pushing tablets or briquettes of waste sand into the forming press.

Figure 10 is an elevational detailed view of a .cam mechanism for controlling the various opties 2| of appropriate size and contour in which are disposed follower plates 22, designed to extract the blanks after formation. Each plate is attached to a vertical rod 23 extending downwardly through the mold and having upon its lower extremity a roller 24 which engages at an appropriate stage in the travel of the ring l9, with a cam 25 to raise the plate.

Rotary motion is imparted to the ring by means of a piston 25' (shown in Fig. 1) reciprocating in a cylinder 26, having inlets 21 and 28 for fluid under compression. As will be observed, the axis of the piston extends approximately tangentially with respectto the periphery of the ring l9 and at its extremity is provided with a pivoted pawl 29, adapted to engage gear teeth 3| upon the outer periphery of the ring in such manner that upon reciprocation of the rod, the ring is rotated in steps corresponding in linear length to the spacing of the molds.

Waste send for forming the tile blanks may be supplied to the molds from a feed. mechanism such as a chute 32 extending to a suitable feed hopper (not shown). The sand may be fed into the molds in loose state or, if preferred, it may be admixed with a binder such as molasses, tar, water-glass, or the like, to form plastic masses which may be subdivided into tablets or briquettes 51, for the admission and withdrawal of cooling fluid.

A cylinder 58 for fluid under compression is disposed in parallelism with respect to the preheating kiln and a piston 59 reciprocates therein. "This piston at its forward extremity is provided with a cross-head 60,'through which extends an arm 6| that projects laterally through bodies.

A tunnel kiln 33 having a charging end and a discharging end incloses an appropriate sector of the ring l9 and is provided with suitable burners (not shown) by means of which the waste sand material contained in the molds may be heated to the sintering temperature of the glass content of the waste sand mixture.

A press for shaping and consolidating the waste sand into coherent masses in the molds disposed adjacent to the discharging end of the kiln comprises a base 36, to the upper portion of which is attached a vertically disposed cylinder 31 having conduits 38. A plunger 39 reciprocates within the cylinder and is adapted to register with molds and when the plunger is actuated downwardly it functions to compress material within the mold disposed therebeneath.

The blanks 4| are removed from the follower plate 22 by means of a mechanism which includes a piston 42 reciprocating in a cylinder 43 which conveniently may be disposed in the base 36 of the press and which is supplied with actuating fluid for the piston by conduits 44.

A plate 41 receives the freshly formed blanks and directs them upon the upper reach of a conveyor belt 48, having its. receiving and adjacent to the press, and trained about rollers 49, one of which is driven by motor mechanism 50. Preferably the conveyor is formed of heat-resistant material, for example, of a mesh of chromium steel links. The upper reach of the belt upon which the freshly formed blanks are disposed passes through a preheating tunnel 5| within which is disposed a series of burners 52 for heating the blanks to an appropriate temperature for glazing.

As shown in Figs. 4 and 5 mechanism for receiving the preheated blanks from the conveyor belt 46 includes a grid or platform 53 comprising a series of spaced parallel bars 54 disposed adjacent to the extremity of kiln 5|. Preferably the bars are water cooled, for example by means of a conduit 56 contacting therewith and connected at its extremities with supply conduits slot 62 into the kiln at the extremity thereof. The arm may be of hollow construction and include an inlet conduit 63, for the admission of cooling fluid and an outlet 64. Arm 6| includes a downwardly-extending finger 65 which, as the piston 59 advances, rides up and over the top of the tile blanks, but as the piston is retracted it engages the rear edges of the blanks to carry them forward upon the platform 53.

As the blanks traverse'the platform, dry, pulverized, glazing material is distributed thereupon by means of a mechanism that includes a supply hopper 66 carried by a framework 61. At its lower extremity the hopper discharges into a feed chute 68, which is supported upon parallel spring leaves 69 and II, the latter of which carries vibrator 12 for imparting a rapid vibratory motion thereto. Such motion carries the crushed material along the chute and discharges it into a vertical chute 13, carried by arm I4 from frame 61. At its lower extremity chute I3 terminates adjacent to the upper surface of a blank upon the platform. A receptacle 15 is disposed beneath the platform to receive any material which is not deposited upon the surface of the tile and which drops between the bars of the platform.

A cover plate 16, through which chute 13 extends, is supported between kiln 5I- and a second kiln TI constitutes means to conserve heat within the blanks while the glaze is being applied. In order to insure adequate fusing or sintering of the glazing material upon the tile blanks the latter 'are pushed from platform 53 upon a second conveyor 18 corresponding to conveyor 46. This conveyor is disposed upon drums 19 which are driven approximately in synchronism with the drums 49 by motor mechanism 80. This conveyor extends through tunnel kiln 11 above mentioned and burners 8| within the kiln at the rear extremity thereof play upon the tile blanks, thus insuring adequate fusion of the glazing material. The burners 6| are so regulated as to obtain gradually decreasing temperature in the direction of travel of the glazed bodies. Proper annealing is thus obtained.

The mode of operation of the construction described is substantially as follows:

When the mold carrying ring 19 is at rest, the molds 20 are charged through the chute 32 with waste sand in appropriate amount to form the tiles or other blanks which are to be produced. The sand may be cold or if preferred it may be preheated to any appropriate degree,

e. g. 1000 F., in order to reduce the amount of heat necessary to be added in the furnace 33, in order to sinter the glass particles. As previously stated, the waste sand may also be added in the form of coherent tablets or briquettes obtainable by mixing the material in dry state with a binder such as water-glass and then subdividing it into masses of appropriate size and dried. If tablets or. briquettes are fed into the molds, they may be preliminarily coated with lime or other dusting material, in order to prevent possibility of adhesion to the molds.

The molds are successively indexed past the charging station by reciprocation of the piston rod 25' in the cylinder 26 until the one first charged reaches 'the press 36. During passage through the kiln 33 the material is heated to about 16 or 17 hundred degrees F. The mold on emergence from the kiln is brought into register with the plunger 39 and fluid is admitted to the cylinder 31 in order to actuate the plunger downwardly to compress the material; The degree of pressure employed to effect satisfactory consolidation ofthe mass preferably is relatively high. Good results have been obtained by emmaintaining the mold at a suitable working temperature.

Blanks after they have been pressed in the mold are ejected by means of a follower plate periods are also applicable if so desired. A brief hammer-like impact upon the material is also contemplated as being within the scope of the invention.

After a block has been properly compressed the plunger is withdrawn and the mold is indexed to bring the nextv mold into register with the press. The rotation of the. ring 2I engages the roller 24 with the cam 25 to lift rod 23 and the follower plate 22, thus elevating the freshly formed coherent blank to the level of the top of the mold. f

Piston rod 42 is then actuated to push the freshly formed blank fromthe mold across the plat 41 to the upper reach of the conveyor belt 48. The latter carries the blanks in succession under the burners 52to preheat them to the de-v sired temperature for glazing. When a blank reaches the end of the preheating tunnel 5|, fluid under compression is admitted to the cylinder 58 to actuate the piston rod 59 forwardly and the flnger 65 then drops over the front edge of a preheated blank. When fluid under compression is admitted to the other end of the cylinder to retract the piston rod, the blank is drawn from the belt upon the platform 53 and moves under the lower end of the chute I3.

- Glazing material in pulverized form is fed down- 'of the chamber 'I'I where the temperature 'is gradually reduced in order to anneal the bodies.

Subsequently the bodies are removed from, the

forward end of the kiln.

The chilling of the grid or platform-93' by 99 upon a piston rod I9I which projects upwardly through the mold. The rod at its lower extremity is attached to a piston head I92 within a cylindrical cavity I93, which cavity is supplied with fluid under compression by means of conduits I04.

Pressure is applied to the material within the mold by plunger I06 upon the lower extremity of a piston rod III! which reciprocates within vertical cylinder I08 upon the upper extremity of the base 9|. At opposite extremities this cylinder is connected with conduits I09 and III for the admission of actuating fluid.

Preheated material (waste sand) may be sup,

.plied to the press, for example in the form of tablets or briquettes II2 of approximately the sam cross-section as the mold cavity 96. If they are not of 'a size suflicient almost completely to fill the mold, difliculty may be experienced in the pressing operation, because the material will not flow laterally to any substantial degree. The tablets are supported upon slab II3a and are passed through a preheating tunnel kiln II3, which is provided with burners (not shown), by mechanism including a rod II4 having combined reciprocal and rotative movement within the kiln. The rod as shown in Figures 6 and 9 has appropriately spaced laterally-extending fingers IIB adapted to engage the rear edges of the tablets and thus to move them in steps through the kiln.

Reciprocatory motion is transmitted to the rod by means of a piston I I1 upon the rear extremity thereof, which piston reciprocates within a cylinder I I8, having conduits I I9 at opposite extremities-thereof for the admission of actuating fluid. The stroke of the piston corresponds to the spacing of the fingers 9, thus insuring that after a briquette has been advanced by one finger it will be engaged by the succeeding finger during the next stroke.

Rotation of the "rod for purposes of alternately piston rod I26 which reciprocates in cylinder I21 having conduit connections I28 for fluid under compression.

The freshly formed blanks are removed from the follower plate 99 by means of a piston rod I30 whichreciprocates in cylinder I3I having glazing'conduit 56 obviates any tendency of any material striking it to fuse thereto. The material simply falls through into pan I5 where it can beremoved.

In the form of the. invention illustrated in ments 98 are disposed therein for purposes of.

conduits I32 for fluid under compression.

Blanks pass from the follower plate across an apron I33 to .a belt I36, which is encircled'by a system of parallel, spaced wires I31. The wires and the conveyor will be described in greater detail in ue course.

-Convey'r belt I96 and forward portions of wires I31 are trained about rollers I39 having bearings I39 supported by framework I49, of tunnel kiln I4I, adapted to reheat the freshly formed blanks for the subsequent enameling or glazing operation. As shown in Fig.9, the space between the reaches of the conveyor belt is closed by means of sections I42 which are supported by channel-like rails I43, that rest on-brackets I44,

which in turn are attached to frame I49 by bolts As shown in Figure 8, conveyor I36 comprises transverse bars I46 with slots for wires I31. At their extremities, the bars extend through slots I41 between the edges of closures I42 and the adjacent edges of the walls of the kiln and are interconnected by a drive-chain I48, including links I49 and rollers II. The rollers of the upper reach of the chain ride upon the upper edges of rails I43, and those of the lower reach ride upon the upper edge of a rail I52 of L-shape cross section, which at its extremities is secured to the frame I40.

For purposes of actuating the chain intermittently to drive the conveyor, 9. cylinder I53, having conduits I54 for actuating fluid, is secured upon the kiln and is provided with a piston rod I55. At its extremity, the piston rod is attached to a cross-bar I56 of a carriage I58. Wheels or rollers I59 are secured to the sides of the carriage and are disposed in channel-like members I6I mounted upon rails I 62, of frame I40.

Side plates I63 and I64 are also secured to the sides of the carriage I58 and terminate at their lower edges adjacent to the conveyor chains I48. Pawls I66 pivoted as indicated at I61 to the plates I63 and I64 provide a connection between the plates and the links of the chains. Longitudinally adjustable plates I61a may be disposed above the chains in position to lift the pawls from the chains during a part of the stroke of piston I54. By adjustment of these plates the length of the effective stroke of the pawls may be regulated.

It will be observed that wires I31 extend through kiln HI and pass through mechanism for glazing the tiles. The mechanism includes a feed hopper I68, supported by uprights I69 upon a second section I of kiln MI. The hopper discharges into a feed trough I1I which is supported upon leaf Springs "2, one of which is provided with an electrical vibrator I13. The feed trough discharges into a vertical chute I14, which at its lower extremity projects into proximity to bodies upon wires I31. Material not caught by the tiles upon the wires I31 drops into a pan I15, which is supported upon ledges I16 between kiln sections MI and I10.

The temperature of the bodies is maintained during the glazing operation by a cover plate I11 through which chute I14 extends. If desired, burners I18 may also be disposed in proximity to the discharge end of the chute.

The operation of the feed trough I1I is synchronized with the movements of the conveyor I36 and wires I31 by suitable control mechanism involving an upwardly-projecting extension I19 of plate I83, which extension carries a horizontal flange or rib I8I', having at its forward end a pawl I82, which at its free end normally rests upon a second horizontal flange I83. A roller I84 at the extremity of the switch arm I85 travels upon the flanges as the carriage I58 oscillate-s, being deflected by pawl I82 to pass over the flange I8I during forward movement of the carriage. During the return stroke it drops down upon flange I83.

The switch arm is pivoted as indicated at I81 to plate I88 which is mounted upon bar or beam I62. An arm I89 is, also, secured to the switch arm and at its upper end is provided with a flexible connection I9I joined to electrical conductor I92. The extremity of the arm is provided with a contact point I93 having lead I94 to vibrator I13. The la ter is further connected by lead I96 to a suitable source of electrical current in order to energize the vibrator.

The wires I 31 extend through section I10 of the furnace and pass in proximity to a series of burners I91 adapted to heat the tiles to such temperature as completely to fuse down the glaze into a smooth uniform coating. The burners 91 may-be so regulated as to obtain gradually decreasing temperatures in the direction of travel of the glazed bodies, thus insuring that the latter will be properly annealed. Externally of the end of the section I10, the wires I31 are trained about a roller I99 journaled in bearings 20I, disposed upon frame I40.

The return reach of the wires is also trained over a pair of horizontally spaced idler rollers 202, journaled in the supporting framework, of the kiln. Between the idler rollers loops 203 of the wire are trained about take-up rollers 204, which are designed to maintain the wires under uniform tension at all times.

As shown in Figure 10, mechanism for controlling the cycle of operation of the various elements of the assembly, including the cylinder II8, pressure cylinder I08, cylinder I03, cylinder I21, cylinder I3I and cylinder I53, includes a shaft 201, which is journaled at its extremities in uprights 208. The shaft at one extremity is connected to the shaft 209 of a speed-reducing mechanism or gearing 2I I, which in turn is driven by a suitable electrical motor 2 I 2.

Cams 2I3 of appropriate outline are disposed upon the shaft, there being a cam for each conduit of the pressure cylinders herein described. The cams contact with rollers 2| 4 having bearings in the lower extremities of slides 2I6 of valves 2I1, which valves in turn are suitably connected by conduits 2I8 to the conduits of the various pressure cylinders. It will be apparent that as the shaft 201 is rotated the various valves are operated in sequence by the cams 2I3, in order to obtain the desired cycle of operations of the various elements in the mechanism.

The mode of operation on the mechanism is substantially as follows: Briquettes of waste sand are fed into the tunnel preheating kiln H3 in any convenient manner and are advanced in steps through the latter by means of the rod H4 and the side arms II6 carried thereby. At the time the briquettes reach the mold 94 it is desirable that the follower plate 99 be in elevated position and the piston or plunger I30 be retracted. The briquette is then advanced upon the follower which is subsequently retracted by red ml to lower the briquette into position in the mold.

The plunger I01, upon actuation, compresses the briquette into a dense strong coherent mass which upon admission of fluid to the cylinder I03 is elevated by the follower plate to the level of the top of the mold. Actuation of plunger I30 pushes the freshly formed body upon the con veyor I36 and wires I31 where it is carried under the preheating burners in order to raise it to the glazing temperature. As each body is deposited upon the conveyor the piston rod I55 is oscillated in order to advance the conveyor an appropriate step. When the blanks reach the extremity of the kiln I4I, they are carried by wires I31 under the chute I14 during the cycle of operation of the vibrator I13. As a result a uniform layer of pulverized glazing material is deposited upon the upper surface of the blank. By reason of their small size, the wires after they emerge from the furnace quickly cool to such extent that stray glazing material striking them falls into the pan below without fusing to them.

In successive steps of operation of the conveyor the blanks having the pulverized material thereupon pass under burners ml, the heat of which fuses the material down to a uniform coating. In the further advance of the bodies they are carried into the cooler zones of the section H where they are gradually cooled in order to anneal them. The bodies upon emergence upon the section I are in finished form and may be removed for storage or packing.

It will be'apparent that the process as herein disclosed is peculiarly adapted for the production. of tiles or similar bodies from waste sand or such like materials comprising a hard, infusible but pulverulent material admixed with a fusible material such as glass. Such material may be preheated to the temperature required for pressing. Then when still hot it can be removed immediately from the press as a body of sufflcient rigidity to admit of handling and glazing. At most, slight reheating to bring it to the glazing temperature is all that is required. Accordingly, it is feasible to apply dry pulverized glazeto the bodies as they are received from the press and then by a short heatin operation adequately to fuse down the glaze into a uniform coating.

This in direct contrast to conventional processes of forming ceramic bodies from clay in which the bodies are first formed from moist material and must then be dried, flred and cooled before glazing material can be applied. Such process almost of necessity requires prolonged firing operations with the bodies in saggers or trays.

Various glazes are applicable in the process. However, one that will fuse down at a temperature below about 1700 F. is to be preferred. Enamels such as are applicable to cast iron are particularly adapted for the purpose. The following is an example of such enamel:

It will be apparent that in the use of the apparatus herein disclosed, the blanks as received from thefpress may still retain sumcient heat adequately to sinter down the glazing material upon contact therewith, without preheating. Accordingly, the use of preheating kilns may be obviated, and application of pulverized glaze may be made immediately upon removal of the bodies from the press.

If the body is-sufliciently hot, by reason of, residual heat from the pressing operation or by reason of subsequent reheating, the glaze may be applied and fused down sufliciently for immediate annealing.- The further application of heat after application of the glaze may then be obviated.

The present application is a continuation in part of applicants co-pending application Serial No. 224,308, filed August 11, 1938.

What I claim is:

1. Apparatus for forming glazed ceramic bodies from a mixture of sand and glass in finelydivided form resulting from the grinding and polishing of glass plates, said apparatus comprising a preheating furnace having a charging end and a discharging end, for heating the mixture to a temperature above that of sintering of the glass content, a press disposed adjacent to the discharging end :of the preheating furnace for compacting and forming the material into bodies of a desired shape, means tomove the mixture in small portionswhile hot from the preheating furnace to the press, a conveyor having a loading end and an unloading end, the first-mentioned end being adjacent to the press to carry the freshly-formed bodies from the press, means to transfer the said bodies from the press to the loading end of the conveyor, a reheating furnace enclosing the conveyor, a grid-work at the unloading end of the conveyor, means for withdrawing. bodies from the conveyor and depositing them upon the grid-work, and means to feed glazing material upon the bodies while they are on the grid-work.

2. Apparatus as defined in claim 1 in which the means for applying glazing material includes a vibratory feed element designed to sprinkle glazing material in dry pulverized condition upon the bodies as they pass therebelow.

GEORGE J. BAIR. 

